Synopsis
As the live social entertainment startup’s business expanded, its expenses rose in tandem. Since its founding in July 2020 by Saurabh Pandey, the company has raised over $50 million.Eloelo’s total revenue, including interest from fixed deposits and profit from the sale of assets, stood at Rs 75.8 crore for FY25. A year ago, its total revenue was Rs 4.7 crore as its subscription business had not gone live yet.
As the business expanded, the platform’s expenses also rose. In FY26, it jumped by 67.8% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 174.3 crore, on higher promotions and advertising spends. This resulted in the net loss remaining largely unchanged for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, even as revenue increased significantly.
The firm's net loss remained nearly unchanged at Rs 98.5 crore compared to Rs 99 crore reported a year ago.
A closer look at the expenses shows that the amount spent on advertising and marketing rose 45.5% YoY to almost Rs 59 crore in FY25. Generally, digital platforms make significant marketing spends for customer acquisition.
The Bengaluru-based startup is focussed on building a social entertainment ecosystem for India’s Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets. Its core brands include the Eloelo live streaming app, the micro-drama platform Story TV, the micro-learning app Master, and the AI-powered companion app Connecto.
Story TV offers content across genres like horror, thriller, romance, and drama in multiple Indian languages such as Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, with subscriptions priced at Rs 599 per quarter. It has over 50 million downloads on the Google Play Store.
Founded in July 2020 by Saurabh Pandey, Eloelo has raised over $50 million in funding from Kalaari Capital, MIXI Investments, Gameskraft Technologies, Griffin Gaming Partners, Waterbridge Ventures, and others.
Rival Kuku FM, backed by Google, raised $85 million in October 2025, valuing the company at $500 million post-money.
The mobile-first short-form industry crossed $300 million last year and is expected to touch $4.5 billion by 2030, according to a report by gaming and media venture capital fund Lumikai.
As the industry grows, the short-form content industry has also become increasingly competitive, with key players being Kuku TV, Pocket TV, Story TV, QuickTV from the parent of ShareChat and Moj, and Zee's Bullet. Even Amazon, ShareChat, and Zee Entertainment are tapping into India’s growing appetite for micro-dramas.
